HMS ''Neasham'' (M2712/IMS49) was a for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

. The names of the Ham-class vessels were all chosen from villages ending in ''-ham''. HMS ''Neasham'' was named after

Neasham Neasham is a village approximately four miles to the south east of Darlington in County Durham, England. Geography and recreation The village sits on the banks of the River Tees which, at that point, marks the border between the counties of Durh ...

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

. Despite being completed on 15 November 1957, ''Neasham'' was held in operational reserve in a land cradle at

Rosneath Rosneath (''Ros Neimhidh'' in Gaelic) is a village in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It sits on the western shore of the Gare Loch, northwest of the tip of the Rosneath Peninsula. It is about by road from the village of Kilcreggan, which is sited ...

on the Clyde until 1967. She was then transferred to the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

, arriving in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

as deck cargo on the merchant ship ''Gladstone Star'' on 29 July 1968. After a period at the RAN base at

Garden Island, New South Wales Garden Island is an inner-city locality of Sydney, Australia, and the location of a major Royal Australian Navy (RAN) base. It is located to the north-east of the Sydney central business district and juts out into Port Jackson, immediately to th ...

, ''Neasham'' was converted into a

diving tender Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), a ...

and renamed HMAS ''Porpoise'' (DTV 1002/Y.280) on 13 June 1973. ''Porpoise'' was sold in 1989 to property developer Keith Williams, owner of Sea World on the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia. She was later converted into a luxury motor

yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

and renamed ''Achilles III''.

References

*Blackman, R.V.B. ed. ''Jane's Fighting Ships'' (1953) Ham-class minesweepers Ships built on the Isle of Wight 1956 ships Cold War minesweepers of the United Kingdom Royal Navy ship names {{UK-minesweeper-stub